1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for laminating a transparent film layer on the surface of images formed on a recording medium, and a laminating apparatus used for such method.
2. Related Background Art
There have been known the recording mediums having various compositions which are used for image formation by use of ink jet recording method. Then, along with the application range that has been made wider, and the performance that has been made higher for a recording apparatus (a printer) that uses ink jet method to output the electronic image information obtainable by a computer or through a network or to output the image information fetched by use of a digital camera, a digital video, a scanner, or the like, the performance of such recording media is required to be varied more in many more ways or to be made higher still.
For example, there has been known a method for forming an ink receiving layer by use of the ink jet recording method that adopts a recording medium provided with an ink receiving layer formed on a base material having porous inorganic particles of silica or alumina, and a binder such as water soluble resin as the main component thereof. With the composition thus arranged, it becomes possible to enhance the ink absorption and the fixation of coloring materials of ink.
Meanwhile, with an anticipation that the unit cost of image formation is reduced significantly if the ink jet recording method is made applicable to obtaining images whose quality is comparable to a color photography using silver salt or a multi-colored print using various printing methods, demands are also on the increase for the materialization of the technologies and techniques that make such ink jet printing possible.
As the technology and technique developed for the purpose to form a multi-colored image comparable to a silver salt photography or the one formed by the multi-color printing, there has been known those ones whereby to make the image quality higher by increasing the lustrous degree or smoothness of the image surface by laminating a transparent film layer on the surface of the ink receiving layer after images are formed by use of ink jet recording, and a recording medium composed on a base material together with white porous fine particles, such as silica, provided for the ink receiving layer thereof.
As an apparatus used for laminating the image surface, there is known the one disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-224779. For this apparatus, both the laminating material (member for laminating use) and a recording medium are supplied to the interior of the apparatus from a continuous sheet roller. Images are formed on a specific portion of the recording medium by use of ink jet method, and the member for laminating use is overlapped therewith and heated under pressure. Thus, after the transparent film layer is laminated on the recording medium, it is cut into a desired size to obtain the printed object which is made with the transparent film laminated on the image surface.
For the structure of the apparatus described above where both a member for laminating use and a recording medium are supplied into a laminating apparatus from a roller as the continuous sheets, there is an advantage that no positioning is needed when at least one of them is cut as sheet to be supplied. However, a cutting process is required to out put a specific portion after the laminating process, and for that matter, unwanted cut pieces inevitably occur as discarded substance.
Further, with the conventional apparatus structured as described above, if a wide interval exists between adjacent two images formed on a recording medium, the area that requires no lamination is also laminated unnecessarily by the member for laminating use to be supplied as a continuous sheet. The use efficiency of the member for laminating use is made unfavorable in some cases.
As the structural example of a laminating apparatus that does not invite the creation of wasteful cut pieces due to the cutting process or the unfavorable use efficiency of the members used for laminating, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06-91767 has been filed. In the specification of this Laid-Open Application, the surface protection layer of a leaf of a sheet having images formed on it, which is being laminated, is supported by a supporting member, and the surface protection layer is laminated when such lead of the sheet is carried into the apparatus. After that, the supporting member that has supported the laminating sheet is peeled off. In this way, only the leaf of the sheet having the lamination processed on it is obtained. The peel off of a supporting member from the leaf of a sheet is effectuated by the utilization of the leaf of the sheet itself whose “firmness” than the supporting member. After the laminating process, the carrying direction of the supporting member is changed at an acute angle to that of the leaf of the sheet. As a result, the leaf of the sheet does not follow the supporting member in its carrying direction so the front edge of the leaf of the sheet is peeled off from the supporting member. Then, the carrying process advances, the leaf of the sheet is caused to be peeled off from the supporting member.
Even by the adoption of this method, however, the peel off of the surface protection layer on the rear edge of the leaf of the sheet is not effectuated in good condition. The surface protection layer tends to remain like “fins” on the rear edge of the leaf of the sheet (that is, the surface protection layer remains irregularly), and appearance looks as if stained in some cases. The surface protection layer which remains irregularly spoils appearance, thus reducing the value of finished product. In order to eliminate this, there is a further need for a process to cut off such portion that may look like “fins” as a post process.